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    Ernst Plischke Kahn House Ngaio, 1940-41. Photo: Paul McCredie.

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    Ernst Plischke Sutch-Smith House Brooklyn, Wellington, 1953-56. Photo: Paul McCredie.

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    Ernst Plischke Sutch-Smith House Brooklyn, Wellington, 1953-56. Photo: Paul McCredie.

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    Ernst PlischkeSutch-Smith House Brooklyn, Wellington, 1953-56. Photo: Paul McCredie.

Ernst Plischke: Architect

5 September - 28 November 2004 in the Entire Gallery
Revered in his homeland, Austrian architect Ernst Plischke (a contemporary of Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier) was a key figure in the introduction of international modernism into New Zealand architecture and design. Born in Vienna in 1903 he emigrated to New Zealand to escape the Nazi regime in 1939, and settled in Wellington having already established a significant international reputation. Plischke went on to design over 40 private houses in his adopted homeland, as well as the landmark Massey House, an eight storey office building with a glass curtain wall on Lambton Quay, which was Wellington’s first modern high-rise. He also designed public housing, worked on community planning, and become a prominent voice within New Zealand culture through his writings and lectures.

City Gallery Wellington’s exhibition Ernst Plischke will bring attention to Plischke’s architectural legacy in Wellington, where the best examples of his mature work exist. Ernst Plischke includes over 100 original plans and drawings, vintage and contemporary photographs of Plischke buildings, architectural models (including a model of the renowned Sutch House by Wellington architect Alistair Luke) , digital ‘walk-throughs’ of Plischke houses and a significant biographical display. Material for the exhibition has been drawn from the archives and collections of the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, and from New Zealand collections.

Public Programmes

Lecture: The New World and the New Vienna
Presented by Professor August Sarnitz..

Floortalk: Designed and Lived in: Buildings by Plischke
Presented by Bill Alington & Greg O'Brien.

Lecture: Urban and Urbane: Ernst Plischke in Wellington 1939-1963
Presented by Linda Tyler.

Lecture: Plischke and his Utopian Plans for Public Housing
Presented by Robin Skinner.

 Principal Sponsor